Junior dos Santos needs a rival.
Rivalry breeds hate. Hate breeds passion. Passion breeds entertainment.
Dos Santos’ next opponent must be Cain Velasquez because that’s UFC’s best chance to provoke a rivalry that sells.
On Saturday night, Cigano smoked Frank Mir, defeating him by technical knockout in the second round. With the win, Dos Santos defended his heavyweight championship belt.
As the No. 1 fighter in his class, there isn’t a countless amount of worthy competitors out there. The man he took the belt from, though, falls into that creditable category.
According to Fox, Dos Santos said after knocking out Mir: “What you’ve done in the past, you’ve got to get over that. This is a step in the right direction.”
In reality, a step in the right direction is one towards the past. Josh Gross of ESPN reported that UFC president Dana White hinted that Dos Santos’ next hurdle would be a familiar one. And that’s exactly what the sport need.
Before falling to Dos Santos this past November, Velasquez had knocked out every single one of his opponents by punches outside of Cheick Kongo. He continued that pattern on Saturday against Antonio Silva, ending his night in the first round. Velasquez’s lone loss remains at the hands of Dos Santos, and despite the fact that his knockout came so quickly, he deserves another shot.
Whether the fight last November was a fluke or a display of Dos Santos’ dominance, a rematch needs to happen regardless. Rivalries bring in revenue. Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was the most watched live MMA event in the United States—pressing that button again is UFC’s best option to boost their popularity.
Dos Santos had a brief rivalry with Joaquim Ferreira, the only fighter to defeat him, but that was back in 2007. UFC needs something fresh. And nothing would fire up fans like the creation of a rivalry between the sport’s top two heavyweight fighters.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
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